“With Barcelona stuck at 0–0 in their Champions League opener, Messi threads the pass that finally pries APOEL open, creating the space for Piqué to break the deadlock and log career assist number 158.”
In a tight Champions League group opener where Barcelona struggle to score and Messi’s own mini goal drought continues, he still dictates the game and delivers the decisive assist, earning Man of the Match through relentless dribbling and creative control.
At 0–0 in a tight Champions League group tie against Viktoria Plzeň, Messi threads the move that finally pries them open for Iniesta, the breakthrough also registering as his 100th career assist.
In a tense Copa América quarter-final locked at 0–0, Messi threads a perfectly timed pass that slices Ecuador open and springs De Paul through to break the deadlock, a pressure-breaking contribution that also registers career assist number 313.
At 0–0 away to Juventus in the Champions League group stage, Messi’s incisive pass into space unpicks a tight back line to give Dembélé the opener, doubling as the 300th assist of his career.
With Barcelona still locked at 0–0 in Málaga, Messi threads the decisive pass that finally opens the home defence for Ibrahimović, breaking the deadlock and quietly bringing up his 50th career assist as a creator at just 22.